Black-tailed prairie dog effects on Montana's mixed-grass prairie
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Authors: C. M. Johnson-Nistler, B. F. Sowell, H. W. Sherwood, and C. L. Wambolt
Date: 2004
Journal: Rangeland Ecology & Management
Volume: 57
Number: 6
Pages: 641-648
Summary of Methods: Johnson-Nistler et al. measured the effects of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies on native range vegetation, in the mixed grass prairie of northeastern Montana. Plant biomass of colonized sites was dominated by fringed sagewort (Artemisia frigida) (42%), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) (16%), and western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) (16%). Uncolonized sites were dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) (36%), western wheatgrass (13%), and blue grama (12%). Areas occupied by prairie dogs were characterized by a decrease in standing crop biomass, plant species richness, litter, standing crop crude protein, big sagebrush canopy cover and density, and an increase in bare ground and crude protein. Activities of prairie dogs in Montana result in a dramatic shift in vegetal composition in areas they occupy.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: black-tailed prairie dog, cynomys ludovicianus, vegetation, nutrition, herbivory
Annotation: 19 prairie dog colonies and adjacent uncolonized sites were sampled between June 2000 and August 2000. An additional 21 paired sites were sampled between June 2001 and July 2001. Cattle grazed both colonized and uncolonized sties at some time during the study. Grazing intensity is not specified. A double-sampling method was used for determining standing crop biomass for each plant species. Species were clipped to ground level.
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